ABSTRACT
Social scientists estimate that there are approximately 8000 gangs in the United States today with over 400,000 members (Klein, 1995a). Since the early 1980s, gang violence, drug use, and criminal activities have increased significantly. Going hand in hand with its rise has been the growth in the prison population, which has tripled in many states during this period (Scheer, 1995). Although gangs are undeniably one of the most prominent social problems facing urban youth, social scientists have focused on African American and, to a lesser extent, Latino gangs and have paid relatively little attention to the rise of Asian American gangs (Boyle, 1995; Klein, 1995b). Against the backdrop of the image of the model minority is an increasingly visible number of Asian Americans who are drawn to and actively participate in youth gangs. This chapter helps fill the void by examining the reasons behind the emergence of Vietnamese youth gangs, as well as some of their activities in Orange County, California. Because of their refugee status, many Vietnamese American youth suffer from unique adjustment problems and experience conflict and alienation both at home and in school. Street gangs represent a sense of brotherhood, family, and community, and yet they also reflect the uneasy relationship between identity, ethnicity, and acculturation among Vietnamese youth.
